TBAC 010 | BA Interviews, Season 1 : Craig Fox – Come to work happy!

In this episode of TheBACoach podcast I interview Craig Fox from New York. He is an Associate Vice President, and a passionate Business Analyst. His story of becoming a BA after working in Tech Support area is quite an inspiring one. I still remember, prior to recording this episode I was super tired, and when I started talking to him, his energy and passion woke me up!

It is always a pleasure to do interviews with BAs like Craig, who bring a lot of enthusiasm and positive outlook into the role of a business analyst and what it entails. Craig shares a lot of tips and insights in this episode, including his biggest productivity tip: “Come to work happy!”

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Why he likes being a BA?

“Being a BA is great and the experience is second-to-none. As someone who enjoys working with people, has a fun can do attitude and a love for technology, I cannot imagine a better career.”

Here is a sneak peek of the episode:

His transition from technology support to business analysis

What drew him into being a BA

Difference he felt being in IT support and Business Analysis, in terms of adding value

His experience of working through a merger / acquisition phase in his company

Why he likes giving training to users

His secret of having an effective ‘parking lot’ in the meetings

How his major career promotions have come as a business analyst

Secrets of conducting effective meetings as a business analyst

His message for business analyst about why we all need to enjoy this role.

Insightful quotes from this episode:

“The diversity in the workload makes it a lot of fun and challenging ..”

“… the thing you are the best at is bringing all the right people together … ”

“How did it work the old way and how will it work the new way and connect the dots…”

“It was working great and now the laws are changing …”

“..I like something thats a bit over my head..I like the initial kickoff… Everything gets crazy, everything gets hectic.. And the thing I really like is when the ball gets rolling… You look back and begin to think wow did I actually do that?”

“Sometimes it’s the classic case of don’t shoot the messenger…”

“Don’t let some negative comment derail the presentation…”

“If you are just in one area you are going to go stale pretty fast…”

“IT is mostly seen as a necessary expense, but BAs are bringing value to the table…”

“If we actually do the planning well in the beginning everything will fall in place…”

“Long meetings are tiresome .. People delve into details…”

“Just enjoy the role, so few people get to get it.”

“All of a sudden people are waking up and seeing how much fun our job can be.”

“Come to work happy!”

Items mentioned in the show:

Craig Fox in brief:

Craig is an Associate Vice President and Business Analyst with a leading private wealth management firm headquartered in the heart of New York City. Craig has worked several roles in the company beginning in the Information technology area and progressing to Business Analysis. With more than a decade of experience in the industry, Craig looks for new ways to innovate within his role while mentoring others.

If you have any comments or questions for this episode, please post them below.

Yaaqub Mohamed (Yamo), is the founder of The BA Coach community and host for the #1 ranked business analysis podcast in iTunes. He believes in adding relentless value to the BA community and advancing the practice. He host this blog, and podcast to help business analysts throughout the world, do analysis better, by providing educational, relevant, and inspiring content. He's the author of 'The Five Pillars of a Great Business Analyst', best selling 'The Ultimate CBAP-CCBA Study Guide' and the creator of the revolutionary 'Ultimate BABOK Kit'.

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You are welcome, Craig. I appreciate you taking the time and helping out the BA community with your insights, and tips; I am sure they will have an impact on a lot of BAs, since they were delivered with robust energy, and enthusiasm!

Hi Craig & Yamo, it is absolutely correct that if we come happy to work and enjoy the role, we can be successful; the key take away is that our success is not totally our’s, but it’s for a team and the right people whom we carry along with throughout the solution life cycle.

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Yamo is a passionate and practicing business analyst, author, and blogger from Toronto, Canada. He hosts this blog, and podcast to help business analysts throughout the world, do analysis better, by providing educational, relevant, and inspiring content.

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